Machinery fob braiding



UNITED STATES FA'IFN FFICF.

LIVERAS HULL, OF CHARLESTO\VN, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINERY FOR BRAIDING.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No. 13,719, dated October 30, 1855.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Livnnxs HULL, of Charlestown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Machinery for Braiding; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1, exhibits a top View of the racer of a braiding machine as provided with my invention. Fig. 2 a front elevatio-n of it. Fig. 3, an end elevation of it. Fig. et, a rear elevation of it. Fig. 5, a. vertical and transverse section of it. Fig. 6, a section of the spring pulley to be hereinafter described, the same being taken at right angles to its axis.

My invention or improvement has reference to the racer alone and it is to be found in the apparatus thereof for taking up the slack of the thread, and causing the bobbin to give out thread in proportion as the same may be necessary. In the construction of the racer as it has heretofore been made, it has been customary to apply to it a weight which being hung upon the thread of the bobbin served to maintain an equality of tension upon the thread during the eccentric movements of the racer. In my improved bobbin I do not use a weight, but instead thereof employ a contrivance or device, which I shall now proceed to specify.

In the several figures A, represents the frame of the racer, constructed so as to carry a bobbin B, withY its axis arranged horizontally. In front of and below the bobbin there is disposed as seen in Figs. 2 and 5, a tubular journal C, made to project horizontally from the frame A, and to carry a grooved pulley D, within which there is placed a spiral spring E, which is coiled around the tubular journal and not only has its inner end affixed to it but has its outer end connected to the pulley. From the periphery of the said pulley a hook or guide a., and a stud b, are made to projectand to be arranged as seen in the drawings. The bobbin is provided with a ratchet c, beneath which and so as to engage with its teeth is a lever pawl F, made to turn upon a fulcrum (Z, and to extend into the path of rotation of the stud b, around the axis of the tubular journal C, its pawl being pressed up to the ratchet by a spring e, arranged as seen in the drawings.

In operating with the racer so made the thread f, from the bobbin is first carried directly through the tubular journal C, from thence it is bent toward the periphery of the pulley turned underneath the hook a, thereof, `thence wound one or more times entirely around the pulley or in the groove of its periphery and thence carried upward and through an eye g, made in the frame of the racer. From said eye the thread extends to the whip or point where the braiding is to be performed. During the eccentric traveling movements of the race-r while the braiding operation is being carried on, the draft on the thread will cause the pulley to rotate or give way, and wind up the spring coiled within it. then the racer approaches the central part of the braiding machine, the retractive power of the spring will rotate the pulley or turn it backward, so as to cause it to take up the slack of the thread and maintain the thread properly extended. l/Vhen the drafton the thread becomes sufficient to carry the stud b, around against the lever pawl with force suliicient to tilt it and throw it out of action upon the ratchet, the bobbin will be relieved and will be caused to turn by the draft on the thread so as to give out more thread, as soon as the bobbin commences to rotate. The spring, a, being relieved from the draft on the thread will turn the pulley backward, and not only take up the thread given out from the bobbin, but move the stud Z), away from the lever pawl, so as to permit the spring' e, of said pawl, to force the pawl up to the ratchet and arrest the rotary movement of the bobbin.

A rotary spring pulley arranged and applied to the racer substantially as described, has I have discovered important advantages over a weight for in consequence of the thread being wound around its periphery, the amount of slack to be taken up is not dependent on the distance to which a weight may be allowed to fall but is controlled by the periphery of the pulley. Besides this the smartness of action of the spring enables the slack to be taken up much quicker than it could be by the fall of a weight; the inertia of the weight and it-s friction on its guides operating as obstacles to prevent the attainment of high speed in running the machine. It is found that with the spring pulley the machine may be run at about double the speed that it can with a weight stud or its equivalent and tubular guide journal with respect to the bobbin and its spring pawl and so as to operate therewith 15 substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this eleventh day of October A. D. 1855.

LIVERAS HULL.

Vitnesses z R. H. EDDY, F. I). HALE, Jr. 

